Rented this one a few weeks ago from Netflix and got around to watching it the other night. I ended up watching it out of boredom and kicked myself for not having done so sooner.

The film starts off with a mild mannered NYC meter maid named Chris. He's walking home after work on Halloween with his hands full with candy and rented horror films. On the sidewalk, he finds an invitation. The invitation is in all black with a red note inside saying simply "Murder Party - Come Alone" and an address.

Chris goes home and decides to cut open some large cardboard boxes to create a (hilarious) knight costume. He follows the directions to an abandoned warehouse down by the water. Upon entering, he is told that tonight will be the night he dies and that the party is for him, his murder.

The plot might sound a bit creepy at this point, but the film is actually a comedy. A very dark, very hilarious comedy. The film follows the people at the party, each one of them aspiring artists. One is dressed as a 19th century vampire, one is Pris from Blade Runner, one is the Wolfman and the other is dressed as one of the baseball gang members from The Warriors.

They put the invitation out in hopes that someone would find it and actually be stupid enough to show up. Their plan is to murder Chris and use the murder as art to impress Alexander, an art snob who supposedly has access to over $500,000 in grant money.

As I said before, the film is hilarious. Chris's captors are so wrapped up in themselves, their art and drugs that it produces a ton of comedic material. The only way I know to describe it is to say that it's sort of like Reservoir Dogs, if that film was a dark horror comedy.

The in fighting and bickering amongst the group leads to an absolutely fantastic ending. Let me just say that the ending involves chainsaws, axes, guns, and a dog that is high on crank. It's a bloody, violent, shocking last third of the film considering the rest was humor based. It does fit in quite well though.

The actors here are mainly first time actors according to the IMDB. I find that extremely surprising as each person puts in a hell of a performance. Alex Barnett who plays Alexander is truly an actor to watch. His art snob character is fantastic, and his acting is spot on. The whole film, he may or may not be lying about the grant and it's great to see the way that plays out.

Overall, this is a bloody and hilarious film. If you go to the local video store this Halloween looking for something a bit different, then I must recommend picking this film up from the shelf. It was a pleasant surprise and was far from what I expected it to be.

Logged

__________________________________________________________"The greatest medicine in the world is human laughter. And the worst medicine is zombie laughter." -- Jack Handey

A bald man named Savalas visited me last night in a dream. I think it was a Telly vision.